Wanderlust
by sweetdreams55
Summary: Wanderlust- An impulse, longing, or urge to wander or travel.    An insight on Joey and Mai meeting, and how their relationship developes from there. Will Mai and Joey become more than friends? Or are they both too stubborn to deal with each other?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Alright, so I haven't published anything on here in forever! I'm in a writing class right now, and we had to write a short fictional story. So I tried to think of some great topic to write about, but I just kept coming back to the last fanfic I was writing before I gave it up. So that is what this is about. That being said, I just want everybody to remember that I did modify it so that the plot didn't revolve around children's card games, so it if is slightly OOC from the show, my bad. Also, if you catch anything that's off, lemme know and I'll try to fix it. (I forgot what school Joey used to go to, and if you spot any names to do with Jack or Maya, those are just the names I changed around for my project.)

Thanks!

Wanderlust

"Where are you going to go?" asked the boy. Try he might, he couldn't hide the sadness in his voice.

"I'm not sure," began the girl, her eyes looking distant, "I was thinking somewhere with snow."

"_You_ want to go somewhere where you can't tan on the beach? I never would have thought that that of all things would come out of your mouth," said the boy, eager to distract himself from being sad.

"I tell ya, kid, I'm done with this town. I'm done with this life, with myself. I need a change. _I _need to change," she stated matter- of- factly, "all my life I've been hanging on to this notion that making real relationships with people would only bring me down. I lied to myself every single day when I looked in the mirror and convinced myself that I could go through life depending on only me, myself, and my appearance. Don't get me wrong, it can be done, you just have to have the right personality for it."

"And you don't?" he asked.

The girl scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, of course I have the personality for it, I've done it just about my whole life. It just gets exhausting!"

"I'll bet it does," the boy said, rolling his eyes, "getting guys to buy you everything under the sun and not once giving anything back. I'm broke I tell you."

"What are you talking about? I give plenty back, like right now, I'm giving you the opportunity to talk with me," she said, slightly smug.

"Oh you're so stuck up!" he said.

"I know, I admit it. I've been a narcissistic bitch to everyone, and this is why I'm leaving. I know I need to change, and it's not going to happen overnight, and it's not going to happen in this city. Not with the reputation I've built myself already." she figured that him of all people deserved to know her reasoning, not that she even deserved the chance to explain to him after all she put him through.

The boy stared at the ground, looking deep in thought.

"If anything, you should be happy to get rid of me," she said, noticing his behaviour.

"But I'm not," he said.

"Then at least be happy with yourself. After all, you were the one who made me realize I need to change. You're doing the world a favour." she said, uncharacteristically softly. Then, getting herself back together, the girl got off the swing and picked up her duffel bag, ready to leave.

"What, not even a hug?" the boy asked.

"Hugs are for good-bye's. See you 'round, hon'," she said, and made her way through the forest trail towards the bus stop, leaving the boy standing alone to stare after her.

This wasn't the first time she had left, nor would it be her last, for when one is wanderlust, there's no saying where the path will lead you, or who will be walking beside you the next time around. At least this time, one could say they might have been friends.

"Watch where you're going, kid!"exclaimed a blond-haired beauty as a boy bumped into her going down the hallway.

"What! Were you talkin' to me?" yelled the boy, "I aint' no little kid, and I believe it was _you_ who ran into me!"

He rattled on like a hot tea kettle, but she had continued walking away, barely sparing a glance back.

"Ugh, Freshmen are so annoying. Although that one was kind of cute, if only he would learn to shut his mouth," thought the girl as she passed the eyes of gawking first years to her locker.

That was the first time Mai Valentine had ever met Joey Wheeler, and for some reason, she couldn't forget it.

That event happened at the very first morning of her last year of high school at Hidber High, and there were only a few more that occurred throughout the school year, but she remembered them vividly. At Hidber High, the grades went from 8-12, so a girl like Mai couldn't give the time of day for a guy like Joey, who only just started going to the school. At least that's what she wanted her peers to believe, or perhaps that's what she was trying to convince herself. Maybe she actually didn't care about him at all- even Mai wasn't quite sure. The next time Mai and Joey had something close to a conversation happened about a month after they had met.

Mai had been standing in line ahead of the boy for the cafeteria. She hadn't been feeling like eating much lately, and had only picked out a veggie tray.

"I heard that the percentage of girls with anorexia in this school has gone up this year," announced Jack in a casual way towards Mai.

"Excuse me?" she said, turning towards the voice, "Oh, you again. I'm watching what I eat, unlike you," she said, motioning to his tray filled with pizza, fries and desserts.

"I don't need to worry about it yet, I still have a great metabolism, unlike you, I suppose," he replied, grabbing a can of soda.

"Honestly, what kind of a smart-ass dweeb do you think you are talking to me like that? I don't even know what your name is," she snapped.

"My apologies, Mai. The name is Joey, Joey Wheeler, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said.

Mai rolled her eyes, "Okay then, stalker, how do you even know my name?"

"Is that even a question? Everybody in the whole school knows who you are," Joey said.

"Flattering," she dead-panned, " well Joey, I also know for a fact, that the percentage of losers has gone up in this school this year- I'm looking at one of the statistics right now," she said, then walked away to sit by the window leaving the boy to stare after her.

Opening her latest fashion magazine, she flipped through the pages, but her thoughts kept going back to that boy."What a rude kid, saying I had an eating disorder!" she thought to herself as she bit into her carrot."he does have great hair though, and his eyes are the deepest green I've ever seen," her thoughts went back and forth between how cheeky and how cute he was.

Mai had been so distracted, that she had resorted to putting her magazine away and staring out the window. Once the bell to signal the end of lunch had rang, it had taken her the rush of students walking to class to realize lunch was over.

Mai's first impression of Joey was right; he was a naturally good looking man and a lot of girls fell for him on account for it, but he also had a smart-mouth, hot-headed, trouble-maker reputation, yet he was charming and sweet at the same time. It just depended if you were in his good books or not, but he got a long with most people. Joey did indeed have summer- forest green eyes, somewhat shaggy, light brown hair, and for a guy who just turned 15, he had a well developed body. He already had broad shoulders and his tall body was fit and muscular due to the sports he was in.

Throughout the whole school year, Joey and Mai subtly got to know one another through random times of running into each other. Even they didn't consciously realize it until much later, but they had actually started to be somewhat nice to each other.

It didn't seem like Joey was ever nervous to approach Mai. Mai figured it was because she was always by herself, and that she didn't have a group of catty girls to break through to talk to her. Mai had never really had any friends throughout school because she was taught at home up until grade ten by one of her fathers paid employees. Her father, Charles, was a big-shot business manager, so he never had time around the house to help her, let alone spend any quality time with her. When she finally went to a public high school, most students already had their group of friends, and nobody seemed to want to take her in. Not that it mattered to Mai anyway; it seemed to her that everybody was annoying and below her maturity level, so she didn't want to be around these people anyway. Mai never had anybody she could really count on growing up, seeing as her mother, Clarissa, had also abandoned her when Mai was eleven due to a huge fight between her and Charles. Mai figured that since she was the most reliable person she knew, she would depend on only herself.

She wasn't the only one in the whole school who didn't have friends, but it seemed that those who were in the same boat as her, tried to blend in to the school more by dressing down so they didn't stand out as much. Mai was the opposite, and that's why people talked about her so much. She had the confidence of a super star and dressed nicer than most of the girls she saw, which brought about the rumours. Unlike the other lone wall-flowers, she truly didn't care what other people thought of her, and she was not afraid to stand up for herself if need be. It there was one thing that her father had taught her, it was not to let people push her around.

A few months later, when Mai was walking in to the ladies washroom, it was no surprise to hear two of the 'popular' girls talking about her in front of the mirror.

Mai had heard her name as soon as she opened the door to the washrooms so she had slipped inside and stood silently behind the corner. She wanted to hear what they were going to say about her and they were only going to do that if they thought they were alone.

"So, did you hear the latest about Mai?" said one girl to the other.

"Mai, who?" the other one asked.

"Valentine, who else?"

"Oh, what did you hear?"

"Apparently, there's this guy she had just met, and he asked her out. Then she slept with him that very night!"

"What a total fluze!"

"I know right, but get this: the next morning, she asked him to Prom, and she hardly knew the guy!"

The girls cackled at their gossip. "Wow, I'll bet he turned her down," giggled one of them.

"Probably," said the other, "it's too bad she can't find anybody from the school that would want to go with her."

"Oh! I heard that she made out with three guys in the school bathroom at once."

"What a whore! I cannot believe that."

"I can. Apparently they paid her, too."

"I wouldn't put it past her to do it for free. Maybe one of them would be willing enough go to Prom with her."

By this time, Mai had heard enough of their conversation. She walked towards them with and air of pretentiousness and her high-heeled shoes clacking against the floor. "Don't you two airheads have a class to get to?

The two girls in front of the mirror looked shocked at first when they noticed Mai, then one of them shot back suspiciously, "I should ask the same to you."

"Unlike you, I am doing well enough in my classes that I can afford a bathroom break," said Maya.

"Excuse me? Do you wanna go? said one of the girls.

"You do realize I have eight years of judo behind me, right?" said Mai.

"You do realize I'd have the whole school behind me, and not a single nobody would stand up for you," replied the girl.

"Please, as if it would be worth my time. I have much more to do than waste any of my energy on you," Mai said.

"Likewise," the girl said, as she beckoned her friend to get going.

"Then it looks like the only difference between us, according to you, is that I'm getting some, and you're not. Now, excuse me, because I'm waiting for the guys to meet me in here so I can collect the money they owe me," said Mai. Her intentions were only sarcastic, but they only dug her into a deeper hole, and put her higher on the popular girls' list of, 'People to Torment For the Rest of the Year,'

"I can't believe how big of a bitch she is," said one of the girls to the other as they walked out of the bathroom.

Mai stood in front of the mirror and examined her perfectly curled hair while taking out her lip gloss.

"I can't stand half the population of this place," she thought.

The run in with the two girls had put her in a lousy mood for the rest of her day, and she had looked less approachable than she normally did. This didn't seem to affect one person in particular, though. Joey always looked fearless coming up to Mai even when she got in moods where everything about her shouted that she didn't want anything to do with anybody.

After school that day, Mai made her way down the school steps and was about to cross the street when the two girls she encountered in the bathroom earlier walked by her.

"There's the blond bimbo again," stated the girl.

"Oh, you mean No-Morals-Mai?" asked the other girl.

"Where _do_ you come up with those one- liners?" asked Mai, "I should be taking notes from you." The girls exchanged nasty stares, then continued on their way. Mai walked across the street to the woods where there was a trail that would take her home. As she was walking, she heard someone speak up from behind her.

"No luck with the ladies today Mai?" asked an oh-to-familiar voice.

"Huh?" Mai turned her head, "oh, shut up, Joey."

Joey followed Mai through the woods."What are you doing?" he asked.

"Going home, what are you doing?" she replied.

"Well, right now I'm walking beside you," he said.

"Don't be more of an idiot than you already are," she said.

"Sheesh, I wasn't trying to be. I think those girls really peeved you off," said Joey.

"Leave it alone. Also, you should stop following me, I don't appreciate stalkers very much," said Mai.

"Well, for your information, I'm actually not a stalker, I'm just making my way home as well," he said.

"Really? I've never seen you walk through here before, and I go this way almost every day," she said.

"Normally one of my parents pick me up, but they aren't in town right now, so I have to walk instead." Joey said.

"That's a shame. I was hoping for a peaceful walk home. I've had about enough nonsense for one day today," Mai said.

"Wow, you're grumpier than usual. Well, you're just in luck because I'm turning here anyway," he replied. At this point, there was a fork in the path, one continuing straight, and one veering off to the left, which was the one Joey turned on.

"Bye, Mai."

"See ya, kid."

_Don't forget that i like to hear what you have to say. Constructive criticism is great too!_

_Also, jsyk, I will be updating pretty much every night. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Alright, I know the first part is kinda slow, but I promise it will pick up in a bit._

_Thanks for reading, seriously! And remember, any reviews are greater than none :)_

Chapter two

Mai felt kind of bad for the way she treated Joey as she continued walking home. After all, he was probably the only person who talked to her moderately nicely, and continued to talk to her even though she always acted as if he wasn't worth her time. Joey was right though, those two girls did put her in a cranky mood, and sometimes she wondered if the only reason he hung around her was for the chance to get in her pants. Clearly, there were lots of rumours about her and her supposed sexual life, but they were only rumours. Sure, she had kissed a few boys when she was younger, but never in her life had she done any of the absurd things people said she did. She had never even had a boyfriend. Mai herself knew that, but it was impossible to convince the rest of the school that. There was no point even to try, so she didn't bother, and just let the rumours escalate. This just proved to Mai how judgemental people were, and gave her one more reason to be standoffish. It also heightened her caution to open up to Joey in case he actually did have ill intentions.

Suddenly she heard somebody behind her again. "Hey babe," the voice said.

Mai thought it was Joey trying to toy with her. "Joey, I thought you were going home," she said turning around and then shrieked in surprise.

"Whose Joey?" asked a man Mai had never seen before.

"Not you! What do you want?" she asked.

"You," said the man grabbing her shoulders.

"Yeah right! Get away from me, you creep!" Mai exclaimed. She tried to fight back as the man shoved her into a tree, scratching her shoulders on the bark. He was a lot older, and a lot stronger, and Mai felt a wave of fragility shoot through her.

"Get off of me!" she screamed.

"Come on girl, I've got a nice car I'd like to see you riding shot gun in. What do you say? Just come with me," said the stranger.

"As if, you freak!" she shouted. Now, rage filled up inside her. How dare this guy lay his hands on her.

"Get your hands _off_ of me!" she yelled, remembering her judo and giving him a swift kick between the legs. He let go of her momentarily, and she took her chance to try to run away.

"Ow! You little brat!" said the man, but he caught her and slammed her face- first in to the tree again. She scraped her hands on the tree badly enough that they started to bleed from the sharp bark. They struggled with each other, the stranger trying to get the upper hand of Mai while she was yelling as loud as she could. He grabbed her by the throat and she was momentarily blinded by the sunlight filtering through the trees. It was beginning to get hard for her to make a sound, let alone breathe. The thought that she could get seriously hurt in this situation gave her a burst of adrenaline. She kicked as hard as she could until she saw him pull out a little Swiss army knife. This struck her with fear and she stopped moving as if it would give the man reason not to hurt her.

He gave her a threatening malicious look as he brought the knife up to her throat.

Thankfully, at that moment, the man heard running footsteps coming from down the winding trail. He didn't want anybody to catch him in this act, so he threw Mai to the ground accidentally cutting her hand with the knife in the process, and sprinted away as fast as he could.

"Mai!" Joey yelled, "are you okay? What happened?"

Mai looked up at Joey from the ground, her eyes wide and glossy. She was still trying to take in what just occurred.

"I thought I heard you screaming and came to see what happened," Joey panted, "oh, Mai, your hand is cut," he said.

Mai hadn't even realized she was holding her hand until he pointed it out, and that is when she felt the pain. She groaned and Joey knelt down to get a closer look at it. Mai couldn't do anything but stare at Joey. She didn't know what to do with herself or what to say. All she could think about was what could have happened if Joey didn't show up when he did.

"Lemme see," he said.

"Ouch!" she cried out.

"Did somebody cut you? Mai, tell me what happened!" demanded Joey.

Mai did everything she could to hold back her tears, she hadn't let Jack see her vulnerable before, and she didn't want to start now. She got back on her feet, but she had twisted one of her ankles in her high heel during her struggle with the stranger. She stumbled and grasped a tree for balance trying not to make eye contact with Jack.

"Here, I'll help you get to a hospital where they can bandage you up," said Joey grabbing Mai's arm.

"No, it's fine," she said pulling her arm away, "I'll just take off my shoes and walk home, it'll be alright," said Mai.

"You must be delusional. I don't know what happened just now, but I'm not dumb enough to let you just walk away by yourself," he said.

"Really, Joey, once I get to my apartment-"

"I don't care what you say right now, I'm not letting you leave on your own. I can fix you up myself, just come with me," he said.

Mai stared hard at Joey, "You know, you're sounding like him."

Joey was speechless for a moment. He didn't mean to sound threatening. "What? I'm not going to hurt you, I didn't mean it like that," he said.

He hadn't realized until now, how heavy Mai's emotions were portrayed in her eyes. It was her eyelashes mainly- they seemed to change according to the mood she was in. Normally, she walked around aloof and indifferent, her prominent eyelashes posing as prison bars. They weren't to keep herself locked inside, but to keep everyone on the outside. This time though, they looked fragile and uncertain like a hanging icicle.

"Please, just let me help you," he said.

Mai got over her foolishness and decided that he really was being sincere. She nodded in consent.

"Alright, you can tell me what happened on the way to my house if you want," Joey said and put his arm around Mai to ease the pressure on her ankle.

Along the way to Joey's house, they walked in silence, going through the thick woods. Mai almost spoke up when she passed a fallen bird's nest on the side of the path, but had no idea where to start, so she resorted to being silent instead. Besides, why would she want to tell Joey- tell _anyone-_ what had happened? Nobody liked hearing that sort of thing, nor did they know what to say or how to react to it.

_Should I put the next chapter up this weekend or next?_


End file.
